ASC 2016 Panels and Roundtable

One key goal of the BJA Smart Policing Initiative is improvement in the rigor with which policing strategies and innovations are evaluated. This roundtable discussion will focus on the research methodologies employed in several Smart Policing sites, the challenges encountered with implementing sound research designs in operational settings, and the ways in which the Smart Policing sites are meeting and overcoming these challenges.

A key component of the Bureau of Justice Assistance Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) is implementation and evaluation of innovative police technologies. Most recently, SPI has focused on body-worn cameras in police agencies across the nation. This panel will consist of Smart Policing practitioners and researchers who are conducting rigorous body-worn camera studies, discussing police-research partnerships, methodology, and evaluation findings. The Bureau of Justice Assistance SPI sites continue to produce research findings regarding the effectiveness of a variety of policing strategies, using credible and rigorous research designs. This panel will feature several SPI sites (Cambridge/Everett/Somerville, MA, Joliet, IL, and New Haven, CT) that have recently completed their evaluation research around Smart Policing, or have made substantial progress in their crime reduction initiatives. This panel will highlight the SPI process implemented in each site (crime analysis, strategy development, and implementation), as well as the process and outcome evaluation findings. The Bureau of Justice Assistance SPI sites continue to produce research findings regarding the effectiveness of a variety of policing strategies, using credible, and rigorous research designs. This panel will feature two sites - Chicago, IL and Rochester, NY. Panelists will highlight the SPI process implemented in each site (crime analysis, strategy development, and implementation), as well as process and outcome evaluation findings. The panel will conclude with a reflection of the first five years of the initiative and the findings and lessons that have been learned.